Under a New Light
by thehush
Summary: After "Project Purity", life begins to return to the Wasteland, but the rain that's begun to fall on D.C. has brought about more problems for the scattered settlements. It's up to the Lone Wanderer to help her people once again.
1. Prologue: The Cup Overfloweth

Disclaimer: The _Fallout _universe was created and owned by _Interplay _and _Bethesda Game Studios_. Mary, NPCs, the personalities of prewritten characters, and the story are owned by this story's author. No profit is made from work of fiction.

Author Note: While playing, I decided there were stories I wanted to explore in more detail that a first person shooter just wasn't going to be able to develop. That's where this story came in. It's grown immensely since I started working on it, and already has several chapters started. If any major chapter structure changes happen, I'll make sure to let y'all know. Like take the prologue for example. It may not stay a prologue. It may become a part of the first chapter like I originally had it. Blah blah blah though, I hope you enjoy it. :) Feedback is practically mandatory. ;)

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**"Under a New Light" by Erin**

_Prologue_

It had been raining for two weeks now, ever since Project Purity had begun. As the water in the river was cleaned and pumped back out, the weather had started to noticeably change. The heat had evaporated enough to affect the radiated clouds and moisture (what was left of it) in the air. The acid rain that fell for the first couple of days sent the citizens of Megaton indoors, only coming out to help the less fortunate find shelter in the storm.

On the seventh day, Mary woke and sat up, pushing back the ratty curtain of her window to find rain water dripping into her house again. She had yet to find a pane of glass that wasn't broken to fix the issue, but there was something more important than rain rusting her walls. Reaching out through the holes in the old fencing, she drew back her fingers to taste the water carefully, waiting for the bitter taste of radioactivity - except there was none.

Looking up, she noticed the clouds were lighter and the sun was beginning to peek through in places. The rain was letting up, but it was only a break between a storm she was sure would follow.

"Hey kid!" Jericho called up from the platform connecting their homes. "Kid! Hurry up and come down to the Lantern! Bring a bucket!"

Without questioning her usually irritable neighbor, Mary pulled on her clothes and rushed downstairs to grab a hat and bucket. When she finally made it down to the center of town, she was muddy and knee deep in water. It was easy to slip down the stairs, but harder to climb out of the pond that had formed around the bomb. She could feel her feet tingle with the burn of radiation, but Jericho grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her up to the safety of the clinic.

Safe, she glanced around to find almost everyone standing on the ledges overlooking the rising waters. Everyone that is, except for the Children of Atom. They were pulling in buckets of radiated water and pouring it over themselves and filling several tubs that had been scavenged from local spots.

"That bomb is just going to keep contaminating all the water…" Lucas muttered, loud enough for her to realize he was beside her.

She looked up and kept her voice low. "I'm more worried about Megaton flooding, honestly."

He nodded, but didn't respond right off. His eyes wandered the buildings rounding up the hole that made up most of Megaton.

"The local trader," Lucas motioned up at a familiar man standing above them. "Says the rain is moving East and it should be clear by tonight. We can't wait though, we need to get everything moved up or we need to get that bomb out of here and start digging drains. I don't care which; let's just get it done quickly."

"I agree, but…" Mary looked over the muddy mess. She had to plan, but it would take some time for the mud to dry if they were going to do anything major. "The Lantern is our main concern, if the rains are stopping soon. Get the Stahl's to pull everything inside and we can put up a wall to keep the water back. As soon as it's dry, we can hire settlers to help build it higher, but I think I might have some ideas on getting the bomb out."

He nodded, turning her way. "I'd like to hear it."

"No time." She waved him off. "Let's make sure everyone's safe from the water."

"Alright." Lucas turned away from her and began to take control of the situation. "Everyone! If we're going to keep Megaton safe and dry we're going to have to make use of what we've got. Sandbags, metal and nails, planks of wood – whatever we can use, start building a wall around that water while we still have a chance! There will be a town meeting – yes, even for you settlers stuck here – this evening. Now let's stop wasting daylight people, we'll have another storm moving in soon."

Mary watched as everyone headed off in different directions, immediately getting what they could. She had to admit she was amazed there were no objections or anyone running off for safer pastures. All anyone had was Megaton, she figured. One might as well save the only town that showed any promise.

For a few rushed hours, people slipped and sloshed through the muddy bottom of Megaton, avoiding the water like a plague. A wall began to rise up around the pool that had formed, blocking off the Lantern's noodle bar and giving Doc a nice waterfront view. Still, when night eventually fell over them, no one felt any safer. The wall would only give them a few more days to move or build on higher ground.

Megaton was looking less and less like home.


	2. Chapter 1: Out of Megaton

Chapter 1: Out of Megaton

_In low light, Mary watched her father nurse a cup of coffee. She could feel the grit and grime of days past. It must have been quite a sight for her father. Where had she been? Who had she been helping? What day was it? How long had it been since they left the Vault?_

_He rubbed his face and leaned on his hand, studying her with tired blue eyes. "What are you doing out there?"_

_She looked down at her water, its clarity still mystifying. "I'm doing what I couldn't do back in the Vault – making a difference." She admired a cut that ran up her arm. "I like helping people."_

_Her father reached out and tilted her chin up so she had to look him in the eye. "Just don't forget to take are of yourself."_

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Mary woke with a start, realizing she had dozed off while waiting for the town meeting to get under way. It was late in the evening before anyone had had a chance to pull together anything. The rains had caused many people to have to escape to Megaton and the Common House was beginning to get so crowded that many people had to set up camp in Morarity's. The tension was obvious and Mary was making sure no one tried to lessen the numbers. Lucas was busy listening to everyone's complaints, taking it all in before he even tried to take anyone down a peg.

Voices jumbled and rose louder and louder over Morarity's smoky bar. The building had hardly seen so many people, but the Irishman quietly enjoyed the potential for business. Gob had retreated to a nearby corner with Nova and they spoke quietly under the commotion of the townspeople. There were the Stahls whose main concern was the Lantern and the supplies coming in from the traders. Colin had to agree, if not with a few snide remarks about being in the town first. Billy Creel was merely concerned for Maggie and Harden's safety, one of the few citizens thinking of someone other than themselves. Doc wasn't sure how many people he was going to be able to treat for colds or radiation poisoning, but he was sure medical supplies would run out before bodies did. Several roaming Wastelanders spoke up as well, pointing out how dangerous the Waste was becoming now that the rains had begun to revitalize the land. The wildlife had been bad before, but now they were multiplying and hunters were finding it hard to travel because of the mud and washed out roads.

Everything was against them, even the very things that kept them alive. The re-realization made her feel tired and responsible all over again. These were her people, her friends, her family – and she couldn't stand seeing them suffer. Not when there were possibilities they had yet to explore. If the flooding bottom hadn't been enough to inspire such a thought, the voices of concern surrounding her would have brought it to the forefront.

Mary rubbed her face and she felt Billy's hand give her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"We have to leave Megaton." She finally said, amazed how quiet a room became when she spoke.

For a moment, Mary braced herself for an outburst of disapproval. When there wasn't one, she looked up to find the crowded bar in various stages of realization. It was clear that she had hit the nail on the head. Prodded the thought no one wanted to voice. Megaton had outgrown its possibilities.

She raised a hand, sighing at the sadness in some of the more ragged settlers. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. It's not my place."

Lucas waved the apology off. "The hell I'm going to let you keep quiet about this. If there's one person we should hear from, it's you. I've lost count how many times you've saved our collective asses or brought this side of the Wasteland together. If it weren't for you, we'd have kissed dirt months ago."

Mary looked down, embarrassed. "I just did what I had to do…" She rubbed her neck and smiled up at the bar. They all looked so hopeful when she talked. "Well, if you're interested I have a few ideas. We're all going to have to work together though, and it's _not_ going to be easy."

No one appeared to object. Several people even, citizens and settlers alike, voiced their approval and raised their drinks her way.

"Go ahead girl, you got our attention." Billy nudged her and grinned when she looked his way.

Standing, Mary took a deep breath and began to move around the room, remembering the many meetings she attended in the Citadel. "Alright, if we're all in agreement, we know that we need to tear town and move out. We have to tie up a few loose ends though before we can actually see this through. First things firsts, we have to do something about the bomb."

A settler raised a hand to catch her attention. "But it's been disarmed, can't we just leave it here for Atom's Children to worship?" The man looked around at his fellow roamers. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not get near that thing."

Jenny spoke up before Mary could. "Mary has a point. If we move the bomb, the church will move with it. They can't stay here, they'll be washed out. Or worse, they'll drown!"

"Right," she continued. "It might take some persuading, but I think we can get them and the bomb to higher ground so we can begin moving out of here. It would be… cruel, to leave them here alone and defenseless after they've helped this town for so long. Without them, this town might not have had the chance that it had. That isn't to say they have to follow us though, because let's be honest, disarmed or not, we would all sleep better knowing that bomb is far enough away that even some idiot with a sledgehammer isn't going to set that thing off."

"Here! Here!" Lucas voiced, raising a water.

"Okay, so we make sure Atom's Children are safe and then what? Where do _we_ go? Last I checked, I don't think we're all going to fit in a Super-Duper Mart." Leo pointed out.

"You're right." Mary agreed, "We have a few solid places around here at our disposal, but they need to be scouted first. I wager it would be a bad idea to go any where but closer to the city, but I want all of you to be sure that you're okay with that idea. If we head for the city, we have concrete and high ground to keep us safe. There's even the Brotherhood patrolling the area, taking care of any Super Mutants or the like that might invade us before we can rebuild walls. It's really the best choice outside of rebuilding from scratch. What with Raiders, rain and everything else, it's all we've got."

The thought of the city visibly made the room uncomfortable, but the brief nods she got made it clear that it was a risk they were going to have to take. Everywhere else didn't have the sort of protection the city had. If Megaton was finished, the next best choice was downtown.

"Alright people, it's late and we should all sleep on this. In the morning I want to hear from everyone. I will speak with the Church to see if I can talk them into moving first. If Miss Mary or I have anything to add about all this, we'll send word to each of you one way or another." Lucas neared her and clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Meeting adjourned. May your water always be pure."

The room raised their glasses collectively before taking their leave. Several people shook her hand on their way out and wished her luck with her travels before it was just her and Lucas at their corner table. Both Colin and Nova had retreated to their rooms, but Gob stayed up to clean the bar and listen to Agatha's soothing violin playing on the radio. He even gave her another bottle of water without charge.

Lucas took off his hat and set it on the table to scratch his dry scalp without being watched. "I didn't want to ask in front of everyone, but where exactly do you plan on sending our little Church? I hope somewhere far and isolated."

She nodded, looking down at her pipboy. One place seemed the best spot for two old, slightly rad-crazed cultist and their followers. It was no where near a town and the area's reputation would help to keep them safe long enough for people to realize they were living around a nuclear bomb. Even with it disarmed, that would make anyone wary of being near people who _hoped_ it detonated.

"Paradise Falls. It's isolated, fortified, and ready to move into… except for maybe a few bodies." She smirked a little and Lucas huffed with laughter.

"Okay, I can live with that. I'll speak to Cromwell and Maya in the morning. Maybe I can talk them into thinking this is some holy journey."

She gave him a short laugh. "The radiation has really messed with their heads hasn't it?"

He nodded. "I'm surprised we're as sane as we are… Though I guess that begs the question: What sane person lives in a town built around an atom bomb?"

"Desperate people." Mary breathed, taking a sip of her water. "I'll have to go into the city and speak with the Pride about helping us. They've been working on restoring the trucks around here for salvage and ground travel. If we can get several running, we might be able to haul the bomb that way. It might take everyone with ropes to pull it out of the hole though."

He downed half of his bottle of water, giving the bar a look over. "If you're in the city, you might as well start mapping out any plans you have about getting us in and settled. It might help everyone feel better." Lucas looked back at her. "Are you going to be okay out there by yourself?"

Mary laughed softly. "Don't worry about me, if the Brotherhood Knights at every possible lookout point in the city aren't enough, Fawkes and Dogmeat will be with me. But if you don't hear from me in two days, send a search party for me." She grinned but he wasn't laughing.

"I want you to be careful. I don't know what we'd do without you, Mary." Lucas replied, his voice as grim as his features. "I know I've thanked you a thousand times for helping us, but I really am thankful that you and your father set foot in our town."

She nodded, patting his hand as she stood to leave. "Don't think anything of it, Lucas. The Wastes are all I have left."

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Author Note: Sorry this took so long to get out, I was having a hard time figuring out how long I wanted to make this chapter and where I wanted to go with it. It's easy to create certain parts of the story, but wow, getting everybody there is a whole other process. *lol* I hope it's not too short! I hope to have the second chapter out soon. Half of it is already written! Feedback is appreciated.


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